Is this a sign of things to come? Just weeks before one of its most important product releases in years, Research In Motion's Chief Marketing Officer is leaving the company according to The Wall Street Journal.

Citing "personal reasons," CMO Keith Pardy is leaving after a two-year stint at the Canadian company. WSJ reports that Pardy will continue to help the company over a six-month transition period.

It reflects larger turmoil in RIM, as the company struggles to remake itself from a maker of corporate-workhorse devices known for security and reliability to a producer of hip, media-savvy gadgets that can compete with the likes of Apple Inc.'s iPhones and iPads, say people familiar with RIM's strategy.

That explains the BlackBerry Torch ad featuring the Philadelphia-based producer and DJ Diplo, and other spots of the same ilk.

Thus far, RIM has struggled to narrow its demographic for the PlayBook, highlighting the tablets usefulness for business while showing off its ability to play video games and movies during demonstrations. It also didn't help RIM's public relations campaign when early tests of the PlayBook claimed it suffered from poor battery life.

Meanwhile, a set release date for the PlayBook has not been set, and the recently announced iPad 2 has raised the bar for tablets.

"We are going to continue to work with them to make sure they understand the reality of the Internet. A lot of these people don't have Ph.Ds, and they don't have a degree in computer science." -- RIM co-CEO Michael Lazaridis